Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen did not have an easy time at all in Sardinia, as they had to clear the tracks a lot after starting on the first day. The Finn is very content with third place in a race he doesn’t like.
“I didn’t expect any good results at the Sardinia Rally, so the third place was a surprise, – said Calle Rovanpera. – I don’t like this race at all and I’ve fought a lot so far, and I’m very happy that I was able to reach the finish line. In the Monti clip 49.9km Lerno, we lost a lot of time in the dry conditions and then in the afternoon the weather helped a bit with rain and we tried to minimize the damage.”
The 2022 World Champion also took five bonus points by winning the Power Stage, but had to protect his tyres, as it was not possible to change tires during the day on Sunday.
“The FIA will have to consider changing the rules and allowing us to race new tires on the Power Stage. It means there is no extra cost and it is easy to put them in the tire change area before the stage. The fact that we save tires on the last day is not a fan experience at all, but no We can do anything else if we want to fight even a little bit for bonus points. I would add that this is not a great experience for competitors either.”
Rovanbera won in Kenya last year, where he had to clean up on day one, and is hoping for a similar result this year too.
“I always liked Kenya a lot, and last year we were able to win. The result there depends a lot on the weather, which can change from stage to stage. It’s a big challenge, but I really like it. We’ll try to finish with a good result again.”